Peristaltic pumps are a common type of pump used across a range of commercial settings. The mechanism by which fluid is pumped involves successive compression along the length of some form of tubing to drive the fluid along the tube.
A common mechanism to provide this successive compression force is trapped tubing in a pump race, a hollow chamber having a U-shaped end, between a rotors having a plurality of protrusions and the wall of the pump race. As such, when the rotor is turned, the protrusions of the rotor compress a portion of tubing and move along the tubing, squeezing the contained fluid along.
Various designs for pump rotors have been developed to improve the ease of use and smoothness of pumping some of which are described below.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,462,417A discloses a peristaltic pump having a pump rotor rotatable about an axis. The pump rotor carries a pump roller and there is described a system for deploying and retracting the protrusions on the rollers. WO9116542A discloses a peristaltic pump wherein the protrusions on the rotor are maintained in the operative or pumping position by means of a tension spring. During operation of the pump connecting mechanism can be brought into a position where the protrusions do not squeeze shut or deform the tube and the tube can permit a cleaning fluid to pass through it. US2010047100A discloses a tube pump rotor including a rotor element a plurality of first swing portions supported pivotally at their base. This allow the rollers to move outwards on operation of the rotor.
There is a need for a system which rigidly holds the arms in position once deployed, is easy to use and can also be operated manually to provide manual pumping.
The invention is intended to provide an improved peristaltic pump rotor.